The Agronomists, Ep 88: Soybean seed trouble and corn disease with Horst Bohner and Albert Tenuta

It’s time for the second Ontario Diagnostic Day episode of The Agronomists!

For this episode, guest host Bernard Tobin (with a great hat) guides guests Horst Bohner and Albert Tenuta, both with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) on an exploration of soybean seed quality and corn leaf diseases.

This episode of The Agronomists is brought to you by ADAMA Canada, Decisive Farming by TELUS Agriculture, and Ontario Diagnostic Days.

Catch a new episode of The Agronomists every Monday night at 8 pm E!

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Summary

  • It’s Halloween and we are in the spirit!
  • Host Lyndsey is dressed as Bern Tobin. Kidding, Lyndsey is out with laryngitis.
  • Wild Turkey belongs at tail-gaiting
  • The Leafs are still disappointing fans
  • Let’s talk about soybean seed!
  • Will Manitoba hit a new soybean and corn average?
  • Warren Schneckenburger says beans are stupid — in that they look awful and still yield
  • Horst says double crop beans didn’t make any friends
  • Seed quality matters! Green, cracked, diseased: what’s going on?

Clip #1: Ontario Diagnostic Day 2: Weird coloured beans! 

  • It’s corn!
  • Northern corn leaf blight is still a main corn leaf disease
  • How does hybrid and trait status play in to disease risk?

Clip #2: Ontario Diagnostic Day 4: Corn resistance and northern corn leaf blight

  • Tar spot time
  • Tar spot is regional, like fusarium, rust
  • The dry mid-summer weather held it back
  • Back to beans: start with clean, healthy seed
  • Some seed staining, cracking, and, of course, infected seed can impact germination and vigour
  • Treated seed matters. Fungicide is key
  • Corn/bean rotation vs alfalfa vs bean/bean rotation: after alfalfa thrived, and topped yield
  • When tar spot arrives matters
  • There are tools to fight — including genetics and fungicides